Chef Dominique Crenn's 3-star flagship restaurant

This restaurant has been on my bucket list for a while now. Chef Dominique Crenn has become intensely well-known, especially following her MasterClass and appearance on Chef's Table. And this, her flagship, is a very difficult reservation to get. We counted 10 tables in the dining room - 1 seating per night. 

It lives up to the hype.

It helps to know a little about Chef Crenn. She is French, exuberant and romantic as the day is long. For example, take a look at our menu for the evening, which is entirely written as a poem.  Above our table sat another poem she wrote, immediately following her father's passing. His artwork adorns the entire restaurant. The menu QR placard features art from a local woman who dined there and was doodling some art. Chef Crenn saw this and commissioned her to work for the restaurant. She is a woman who loves beauty in all forms, and the restaurant is a complete expression of it.

She is also passionately committed to sustainability. You see that too - from the reuse of ingredients (such as the crab shells to make a broth), to sustainable wineries and fisheries and even being told how the kitchen uses glass storage containers (not plastic) and garbage is repurposed for compost on their farm. She is not playing environmentalist. She is deeply committed to it.

As such, the menu is pescatarian, for sustainability reasons. The restaurant doesn't even use beef or chicken stock. It's an impressive commitment that somehow, does not hold them back from delivering a meal that lives in the stratosphere.

The entire meal centers around Chef Crenn. From the poems and painings to family recipies ("This is Chef's Crenn's grandmother's bread recipe...") to dishes described from her own personal inspiration found within them. Even the name "Atelier" means "workshop" - an homage to her father's workshop she grew up in. One will find more meaning to eating here if they familiarize themselves with its namesake Chef.

Enough of all that. The food!

These are the most beautiful dishes I have ever seen. Each one is literally breathtaking. Aside from the vision to create such beauty, the amount of prep work required to deliver a meal like this boggles the mind.

Flavors followed suit. This was high level cooking that produced some of the most memorable and delicious bites I have ever enjoyed. The shiso leaf/mole may be the most beautiful AND the most delicious dish I have ever had. Their presentation of French Onion soup is mystifying in its beauty and blows you away with the flavor combinations. Inventive, creative and delicious. I said to my dining partner: "THIS dish is why I eat at places like this." The pine needle wafer dessert (also in the form of a leaf) was also spellbinding.

Food that looks and tastes this good gives an inertia to the meal that can't be described. "If this dish was that incredible, what is the NEXT dish going to be??" This experience was bolstered by the excellent wines and a staff that was friendly, formal and real. (A terrific contrast to the staid service at Quince the night before.)

This is a place you could eat at again and again. It's everything you want high level dining to be. 

Chef Crenn's empire is expanding as her fame grows. I'm hopeful that she is able to keep this restaurant delivering at this high a level as she expands. Atelier Crenn is a special delivery of top notch dining. I am honored to have eaten here. 

"Hi, Dave! I’ve been following your food journey since seeing your posts on TFL group and just adore your culinary musings. Excited to see that Atelier Crenn was a wonderful experience, my husband and I are headed there next weekend!

We’ll also be in NY during October (hitting Le Bernardin too!), do you have anything in particular you’re looking forward to at the food and wine event? Cheers!"

Krissy Green
September 8, 2022 8:30pm

"Hi Krissy. Thank you for the kind words! You are going to LOVE Crenn. It's just brilliant. And super delicious.

le Bernadin is really special as well. Not like any other Michelin place anywhere (that I know of) with what Ripert does. Be sure to get the wine pairing. Looking forward to my 3rd visit there in a few weeks. Where else are you going in NYC?

For the NYC Wine and Food Festival, I am attending the Dario Cecchini dinner ( nycwff.org/cecchini_secchi/ ). I've always wanted to experience his stuff and won't likely be in his Italian neighborhood any time soon. Paired with a chef from Osteria Francescana? Should be pretty great.

Thank you so much for reading my blog and sharing your thoughts. I can't wait to hear what you think about Crenn, le Bernadin and all the others!"

Dave Shacket
September 9, 2022 10:48am

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